1999 Scenic Walks

Single 40c 'West Ruggedy Beach, Stewart Island' gummed stamp.

Stewart Island is the least disturbed of the three main islands that make up New Zealand. The Ruggedy Mountains in the north west of the island, so named for their dramatic jagged appearance, are one of the most remote parts of New Zealand. Frequented mainly by trampers and hunters, this area of the island receives only around 600 visitors per year. Attracted by the rugged wilderness of the north west circuit, visitors need a high level of fitness and experience to walk the tracks.

Single 80c 'Ice Lake, Butler Valley, Westland' gummed stamp.

Ice Lake is one of many small glacial lakes scattered throughout the South Island's Main Divide. Lying north east of Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest peak, Butler Valley is a remote wilderness area, attracting mountain climbers and hunters tempted by thar and chamois, introduced species of mountain goat. Butler Valley in the Whataroa catchment and neighbouring Perth River area are suitable for experienced mountaineers only, due to its deep gorges, turbulent rivers and rough terrain.

Single $1.00 'Tonga Bay, Abel Tasman National Park' gummed stamp.

Abel Tasman National Park, with its golden sands, safe beaches, sculptured granite cliffs and family camping ground, is very popular with New Zealanders and overseas visitors. The Abel Tasman Coast Track, which takes three to four days, is the most popular walk in New Zealand with 27,000 overnight visitors per year. About halfway along the track is Tonga Bay. Here, on Onetahuti Beach, also known as Big Tonga, visitors can look out to Tonga Island Marine Reserve and its central feature, Tonga Island. The island is home to fur seals and little blue penguins.

Single $1.20 'East Matakitaki Valley, Nelson Lakes National Park' gummed stamp.

Inland from Nelson, south of Murchison, lies Mātakitaki Valley, the largest valley in Nelson Lakes National Park. Its long but easy tracks traverse wide grassy clearings and sphagnum bogs giving views up and down the valley. The glacial history of the area can be seen in some of these side valleys with their deeply cut U-shape, smooth bedrock and alpine tarns and bogs, left behind when the glaciers melted and disappeared.

Single $1.50 'Great Barrier Island' gummed stamp.

Once extensively clothed in kauri, Great Barrier Island’s vegetation is still stunning, thanks to the absence of the possums, a major threat on the mainland. Rare North Island kākā, brown teal, kōkako and the chevron skink also benefit from the lack of pests. Biologically and geologically, the island resembles the Coromandel Peninsula, which it once joined. Now part of the Hauraki Gulf, it is the largest island off the North Island coast, with more than 60 per cent of the island under formal protection.

Single $1.80 'Mount Taranaki/Egmont' gummed stamp.

A significant landmark in the central North Island, the dormant volcanic cone of Mount Taranaki/Egmont stands guard over Egmont National Park and the lush dairy pasture and coastline that surrounds it. Formed of lava, the steep-sided mountain seems to have an almost perfect conical shape from some viewpoints. The forest on the slopes of Taranaki/Egmont is rich with epiphytes dangling from branches and spongy mosses blanket the ground and the gnarled tree trunks. Alpine herbfields and subalpine tussocks grow on the slopes further up the mountain, but are buried by snow in winter.